


The Man They Called Cayde

by razzle_that_dazzle



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, No beta reading or editing we die like men, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 11:07:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20814110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razzle_that_dazzle/pseuds/razzle_that_dazzle
Summary: Ngl I was listening to the Forsaken soundtrack when that song came on and this sorta just happened. Might add more to it later, might not. This is mostly just writing practice and also largely inspired by how much the man they called cayde makes me cry if i think too hard about it tbh.First fic im posting here be nice pls





	The Man They Called Cayde

The Hunter froze in his tracks, just long enough to take in the sight. “No…” he whispered.

He wanted to scream it. Wanted to raise his gun and tear through every single Baron in front of him. Wanted to unleash Hell itself on the Awoken Prince as he sauntered away from the gut-wrenching shape on the ground.

“He didn’t feel a thing,” the Prince teased, taunting Zeus as he waved a gun - Cayde’s gun, the Ace - for him to see. He chuckled as Zeus finally began to move, tears stinging his eyes as he leveled his own hand cannon - the Ace of Hearts. Cayde had asked Banshee to build him his own Ace one Crimson Days, nearly five years before. In those five years, Zeus had lost track of how many bullets had flown from the chamber, embedded themselves in the skulls of Fallen, Vex, and Cabal alike. He did know, however, that he never missed a shot like this.

In his anger, the shot went wide. It bounced harmlessly off the frame of the airlock, but Zeus found that he didn’t give half a damn. He dove for Cayde, coughing and sputtering on the ground, dropping his Ace beside him as he moved. 

“No, no, no,” he muttered again and again as he examined the other Hunter -  _ his _ Hunter, his Cayde. 

“How’s my hair?” Cayde choked out, static laced through his voice. He broke out into another fit of coughing. “Finally speechless,” he murmured after Zeus failed to reply. He tore off his helmet, tears streaming down his face as the gravity of the situation finally set in. 

“You… Light, Cayde, you fucking dumbass,” he whispered, leaning down to cradle the Exo’s head in his hands. If he felt the way they shook, Cayde didn’t comment. “I swear to Light, if you die, I’m gonna kill you.” Cayde forced out a pained chuckle. “I- Cayde, I’m-”

“Don’t you dare,” Cayde interrupted, slowly reaching up to cup Zeus’s hand in his own. “Don’t start that right now. It’s not your fault I’m a flashy dumbass,” he stuttered, somehow managing to get out the sentence without breaking into another coughing fit, despite the gaping hole in his chest. “Not- ngk- not your fault I play nice.” Zeus choked back a sob and pulled Cayde closer onto his lap. 

“Cayde, please…” Zeus pleads, though for what, he isn’t sure, until it comes tumbling out of his mouth. “Don’t leave me,” he manages through the tears, shuffling Cayde’s weight again as he stirs uncomfortably. “I-” He pauses when a sob tears through his chest, up his throat, comes ripping from his mouth. “I love you…”

The words are barely more than a whisper, so quiet that Cayde almost doesn’t hear him. Cayde nods silently, gently tugs Zeus forward until he’s close enough that they can’t focus on each other. Presses a silent kiss to his lips - at least, the closest thing he can muster to a kiss due to the combination of being an Exo, half dead, and missing half of his jaw. His heaving breaths come slower, blue optics begin to dim. The yellow-orange of his mouth flickers less and less as his wounds finally catch up to him. “I- hgk- I lo- Zeus, baby, I…” The final words don’t make it out of Cayde’s mouth, but Zeus knows what they are - know how true they are. His hands find his Ace again, and he pulls it close to the pair as Cayde’s body fails him.

“No,” Zeus whispers again, and again, and again, as he  _ feels _ the life leaving Cayde’s body - feels the hum of fans he’d fallen asleep to, time and time again, slowly wind down. Feels the slow rise and fall of his chest come to a halt. Feels, in his heart, the exact moment the light finally leaves Cayde’s eyes. “No, no, nonono, Cayde…” Zeus doesn’t notice Petra walk in, doesn’t hear her whispered ‘no…’ as a heaving sob tears through his chest. He doesn’t notice the way Cayde’s body cools off, doesn’t notice the way Ares hovers over his shoulder as he scoops up the Hunter. 

He does notice the fire that burns in his chest.

The anger that seeps through his bones, a burning heat that replaces the cool tingle of his usual Arc. 

“Contact the Vanguard,” he finally whispers to Ares, his shell twirling with worry, sadness, grief. “Tell them to clear the Hangar.” Ares mutters a reply that Zeus doesn’t hear. Petra suggests plans that evade his attention. All he can do is focus on the weight in his arms, cling to the Exo as if it would make him come back. 

With shaking hands, he discards his cloak. Trembling fingers wrap around the scarf tucked into Cayde’s vest, gently tug the hood free from mangled metal. He somehow manages to pull the cloak free from Cayde’s body without ever letting go. A heave tears through his body as his fingers trace over the once vibrant red, dulled from the black oil that serves-  _ served _ \- as Cayde’s blood. A second rips free when his fingers catch the frayed edges of a hole made from an exit wound -  _ a point-blank hand cannon shot to the chest will do that to a cloak, _ he briefly thinks to himself. 

He doesn’t think to clean and fix it before sliding the cloak over his shoulders. He knows Cayde probably went through this exact same routine, so many years ago. Chuckles at the way events unfolded - Andal passed his cloak to his boyfriend, who passed it on to his. Zeus wonders if he’ll continue that chain - if he should even risk it. 

All he knows is that the Barons will pay.  _ Uldren _ will pay. 

Zeus’s grief slowly fades to anger. Fury. He wipes his tears with the corner of his old cloak before wrapping the fabric over Cayde’s shoulders. 


End file.
